Reflections on Tamil Nadu 2026 Elections

The Tamil Nadu 2026 Elections, held on April 23, 2026, with results announced on May 4, 2026, are historic in many ways. Every Sunday, I hand-write letters in Tamil, and I wrote about these elections in my Sunday Letters on April 19, 2026 and May 4, 2026. In those letters, I shared my concerns about the marketing expenses being spent by political parties on their campaigns. During March and April, if you opened YouTube, you would find a flood of ads from prominent political parties, heavily from the DMK, and some from the AIADMK. Per the Election Commission of India, a candidate can spend up to a maximum of Rs. 40 Lakhs as election expenses. However, we all know this is rarely practiced. These are deep concerns, and seeing the same ads repeatedly was also frustrating. I did write about this.

The mood among the major political parties before the election was to win at any cost, by hook or by crook. However, that is not a sound strategy, and the results proved it.

An upstart party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by C. Joseph Vijay, created history by displacing both Dravidian parties, the DMK and the AIADMK, and rose to power. Vijay is our honourable Chief Minister today. Many congratulations to him. Here are my observations and learnings from TVK’s remarkable win.

The irrelevance of Media: Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday is an excellent book on media, and this election is a vivid reflection of how media can become irrelevant. Do not blindly trust the news put forth by media outlets, as much of it is paid coverage. Almost all major Tamil news channels predicted fewer than 5 seats for TVK. They ended up winning 108 and forming the government.

Money can’t buy everything: One of the most satisfying outcomes of this election was the proof that simply spending money, or distributing cash for votes, does not guarantee a win. Many candidates won without spending much, and a lot of new faces emerged victorious. This will make politicians think twice about what they spend. A change for the better.

Question conventional wisdom: To invent and create, they say, you must question conventional wisdom, break the rules, and run experiments. This is precisely what TVK did. Believing it is one thing; executing on it is another. We all know that media coverage is largely paid for; the more you pay, the more coverage you get. The TVK leader did not address the media even once, which drew much criticism. But he chose not to. Instead, his strategy was to reach people directly and trust them. He defied the norms of traditional party politics. We are not even sure how many booth agents they had across constituencies. Their conviction was simple: people will come out and vote. And they did.

The role of the Governor: Post-election, it was disheartening to see TVK not being invited to form the government for several days. It may have ultimately worked in their favour, giving them time to consolidate support, but the Governor’s conduct remains questionable. The laws of the land should apply equally to all. In states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, we have seen Governors invite the single largest party to form the government. That did not happen in Tamil Nadu. Our Prime Minister promised minimum government and maximum governance. It is disappointing to see that promise not put into practice. As a country, our focus and energy should be on research, business, and exports, not on political theatre.

Inspiration: TVK’s win is an inspiration to all, and there are many lessons to draw from it. Strategy is key; a good strategy reduces a great deal of unnecessary effort. But having a strategy is one thing; executing on it is another. TVK had both strategy and conviction. Their approach was clear: go directly to the people, ignore the noise, and keep repeating the same message. And above all, it came down to timing. They prepared well, but executed when the moment was right. Vijay did not launch his party ten years ago; he made the best use of a void. He believed that people were genuinely fed up with the two major parties and were longing for change. He capitalised on that sentiment and delivered. Not an easy thing to do, but this is precisely where he won.

It remains to be seen how TVK will govern. But we wish our new Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, and his team the very best. Thank you for the great learnings.

Thank you for reading.

Karthik Chidambaram